TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS
Walt’s Words of Wit and Wisdom
by Walt Klamath
Shirley Walker and a Coquille elder participate in the elder fashion show.
More than 500 Attend Elder Honor
Day at Chinook Winds
by Kathryn Dick
The Annual Elder Honor Day was
held in the convention center at Chinook
Winds Casino Resort on April 12. Five
hundred eleven elders from 17 different
tribes and groups attended “Treasures on
the Beach.” The tribes were from Idaho,
Washington, and Oregon.
It was quite a success and the enter
tainment was great. The elders had com
mittees that worked hard on making the
plans. It was quite a job, but everything
went off as planned.
Walt Klamath was the master of cer
emonies and did a wonderful job. Stan
Werth was in charge of the Honor Guard;
they looked great and did a great job.
We included some Siletz culture by
Bud Lane and Ed Ben. We also heard from
Darcy Trego of the Diabetes program.
The elders worked hard making the
treasure chest centerpieces. We held two
classes to make 180 of them. The chests
were filled with plants and were decorated.
The elders brought gifts for door prizes.
As usual, Derek Simmons and his
crew did a wonderful job with the setup
and service provided.
A special thanks to Ray Ben, Donna
Woods, Pam Werth, and Liz John for going
with me the day before to get everything
set up. What a job that was! I sure appre
ciate all the hard work you did.
Another Year of Wisdom for Our
Elders... Happy Birthday!
Mary Hudson, 6/1
William Hudson, 6/30
Josephine John, 6/10
Donna Kessinger, 6/26
Sheila Kirkwood, 6/21
June LaGrew, 6/25
Jodene Lane, 6/12
Frances Lorello, 6/30
Margaret Martin, 6/15
Allen McClintock, 6/2
Mickey Melton, 6/7
Ellery Mortenson Sr., 6/22
George Muschamp Jr., 6/8
Victoria Nelson, 6/8
Susan Ramsdell, 6/4
Robert Reed, 6/13
Lester Simmons, 6/20
Germaine Stratton, 6/25
Dona Swader, 6/17
Sonja Taylor, 6/21
Daniel Woods, 6/6
Julie Adams, 6/11
Margaret Aispuro, 6/6
June Austin, 6/9
Thomas Blair, 6/7
Monte Boe Jr., 6/17
Julie Chavez, 6/4
Edward Collins, 6/27
Waldo Collins, 6/21
James Cook, 6/22
Michael Darcy, 6/24
Andrew Delgado, 6/30
Ronald DePoe, 6/13
Kathryn Dick, 6/28
Margaret Erickson, 6/10
Cynthia Farlow, 6/24
Larry Fife, 6/17
Orville Flores, 6/5
Jean Garrett, 6/27
Mary Girard, 6/11
Victorine Harrison, 6/19
Betty Helmig, 6/25
8
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Siletz News
•
June 2005
My goodness, how time does fly
whether you are having fun or not. This
kinda reminds me of the Petersons Rock
Gardens between Tumalo and Redmond.
As one is walking and gawking, there is
a sign that says, “Enjoy yourself, it's later
than you think.” Seems I took forever to
come of age, then for some reason life
went into double overdrive.
Was talking to someone the other day
about computers and family life. Well,
let’s go back a little further.
It used to be that families would sit
down at the table for meals, especially the
evening meal (supper) when dad was
home from work. There were potatoes and
gravy and meat of some sort, probably
venison, in fact in the rural areas more
than likely.
Enter the age of television - what a
change in the way of life.
There used to be a big church in Port
land called the “Wings of Healing.” We
had become acquainted with one of the
evangelists of that church. He was a young
“God’s Ball of Fire.” He said it was not
television, but better called hellavision.
In ’51, we didn’t have it here in
Logsden, anyway. Travelers were selling
them like hotcakes on the grounds that it
would be here in a couple of years and
that people needed to be prepared for it.
In ’53 when I returned from the
Armed Forces, TV was in. It was hard to
see with lines across the screen - snowy
pictures, but good voice. We had all kinds
of things for antennas. Some worked bet
ter than others, some locations were bet
ter than others.
My wife and child moved to Portland
in ’54. We got good TV reception there,
but life took a whole new turn.
No longer did we sit at the table to
eat. We would get a plate and go to the
room with the TV and sit in front of that
boob tube and eat and watch. The TV
became the babysitter. Our whole life
seemed built around that stupid TV.
Now there were favorite shows that
had to be watched; of course, everything
was in black and white. We had some sort
of plastic film we put over the screen to
get some color, but it didn’t help much.
When visitors would come, what did
we do? Watch TV. When we went visit
ing, same thing. Friendly visiting became
extinct - no card games, no playing
games. We did some camping, but for the
main part it was TV.
In time, TV started to become an old
thing. Then in ’59, the CB (citizens band
radio) craze started up. Everybody and his
dog had a CB. There were a hundred CB
antennas from Flavel to Clatsop streets
and 52nd Drive to 72nd.
Everyone came across other chan
nels, sometimes over the church PA sys
tems. Now, instead of sitting in front of a
TV, we sat around a lollipop microphone
eating whatever was convenient that
wouldn’t take time from listening to all
the goofy stuff on CB.
There seemed to be channel clans; we
were channel seven. Then there was the
upper class, the ones that wouldn’t asso
ciate with the lower channels or higher
than 19.
Then we got into the power struggles
about who could reach the farthest. Of
course, what really happens was the skip,
where if one was in the right place, one
could talk anywhere in the world on four
watts. So we didn’t dare leave the table
for very long at a time because we might
miss an important call - big deal. All the
kids had handles (skip names).
Well, as time went on TV did keep a
certain amount of attraction. But when
company came, it would be turned off,
but not the CB. We would still eat at the
table as long as there was a lollipop in
the middle of it so anyone could answer
or get involved in what was going on.
There was that crackling and snapping,
frying noises that went with the territory.
We wouldn’t put up with that on TV.
Now it’s computers. Life now is
around some kind of tube; I don’t know
if it could be called a boob tube or what.
Guess it’s cheaper than a phone call.
When visitors come, especially
younger ones, they have to get on the
computer to talk to someone they don’t
know about something they don’t know
anything about. The younger ones don’t
have time to go outside and do any yard
work or anything, but they have time to
play games on the computer. Guess they
get a lot of finger exercise.
Well, I have a TV and computer in the
home and a CB in my car. I don’t know
how to turn the computer on. I like to watch
TV (westerns) and I use the CB when I
am traveling the corridor and hunting.
I seldom eat at the table, but sit in an
easy chair and watch TV when the
weather is nasty outside. When anyone
comes to our house, the TV goes off, the
computer is shut down, and we can talk
or whatever and also we eat at the table.
This is the way it was supposed to be
in the first place. There is something about
eating and sharing stories and laughing
together that is lost in the electronic age.
’ AHHOH
Elder Council Meeting
June 11,2005
2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Chinook Winds Casino Resort
If you need a ride, please call Kathryn Dick
1-800-922-1399, ext. 1261, or 541-444-8261